Below is the post for the anniversary of the completion of the psychiatric drug withdrawal process I went through that I wrote for last year. Much of it remains relevant and true, so I thought I’d share it again.

I actually have had my best year since coming off drugs this last year. I started seeing improvements somewhat faster in the last year and am getting significantly physically stronger and healthier in general. Discovering the histamine intolerance a little over a year ago led to the most significant personal dietary change I’ve made. The most exciting result has been that after extensive rehab with yoga in my home I can now go to yoga classes in my community with some frequency. Classes are drop in and don’t require a commitment. See: Yoga victory: recovery continues

Today, February 9th, 2014 is the 4th year of the completion of the withdrawal process.

This is what I wrote on the anniversary last year. February 9, 2013:

Three years ago today, I completed a six-year process of withdrawing from six psychiatric drugs. That process was the impetus to start speaking up about what is happening in psychiatry and to far too many of us who have been inappropriately medicated and made ill by said medication in a myriad number of ways.

I learned about what was happening not only from my own personal experience but my work, as social worker, with others who were subject to the mental health system via social service systems. My own experience as both (now – ex) patient and a mental health professional allows for some interesting and sometimes uncomfortable insights into the mental health system in the United States. I try to share those insights with my readers daily.

This blog has allowed me to be productive while very ill and in so doing get the word out to many thousands of others that they might make an informed choice — an opportunity I was never given. We’ve had more than a generation of people who weren’t able to make that informed choice. Today with the power of the internet this can change. Still, many vulnerable people continue to be given medications without full disclosure to their sometimes very grave risks, nor are they told about the many ways to heal safely without medications or with minimal, targeted use of medications during crisis.

Please familiarize yourselves with the drop down menus at the top of the page. There you can find many resources and information about alternatives to psychiatry. There you can inform yourself and your loved ones about how to never end up crippled by psychiatric care like so many people I’ve come to know through this work.

I’m still recovering from the grave harm the drugs incurred. For some of us with severe withdrawal syndromes the process can take several years. I do continue to get better and at this point I do expect becoming well even though I’m still quite disabled by any standard. The amount I’ve improved in the three years since I completed the withdrawal is really quite a lot, though. I was bedridden for well over a year. I couldn’t even sit upright. During that time I wasn’t strong enough to hold my hand up to my mouth long enough to brush my teeth. Those days are long gone. Rehab continues and it’s often frustratingly slow, but when I remember back to the days I couldn’t sit up in bed I realize how far I’ve come.

I’ve been free of this massive cocktail of drugs for over two and half years now. The sad part is the greatest amount of suffering I’ve ever endured in my life has been a result of my body adjusting to no longer having neurotoxic drugs in my system. Medically-caused harm and a term that often sounds Orwellian to those of us who experience the protracted version: withdrawal syndrome. It totally fails to capture the grave disability some of us experience.

Still, I have not one moment of regret for having freed myself from these drugs because my mind is clear! I have a clarity of mind that is so beautiful I can cry if I spend time thinking about it. My clarity was stolen from me for almost half my life. I have it back and even impaired as I am, unable to leave the house most of the time, I am grateful.

Yes, I am grateful to be able to spend the rest of my life in clarity and purpose I never had while drugged.

Below are a few additional posts I wrote in the last year and since the above anniversary post was first published. They offer more information on my recovery process in the last year.

Best advocates for mental health and wellness

Best Depression Blog, Open Forest 2016

Best Depression Blog 2015

Best Depression Blog 2013

Must Read Medical Blog Award

Top Blogs 2009 mental health

Featured Mental Health Blog

Best of web: Mental Health

Finalist Dosie Awards

Asheville Blog Awards

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